Galway amateur Rory Gallagher is best placed of the eight Irish competing at the Toro Tour event at Azata Golf Club in southern Spain.
Gallagher’s three-over opening effort was a remarkable turnaround given that he double-bogeyed the first and fifth holes to cover the opening five in five-over. Three birdies in a row from the sixth helped the cause, and he ended the day in third position in the amateur category and tied for eighth overall.
Tullamore’s Evan Monaghan is one stroke further back at +4 and fellow clubman Stuart Grehan, the sole Irish professional in the field, shot a disappointing six-over after a victory and a third-place finish in his previous two events on the Andalucían winter tour.
Royal Tara’s Hannah Guerin’s five-over sees her tied for the lead in the ladies category alongside Dane Chloe De Verner.
Only four of the 42 competitors broke par on a day of high scoring, with English trio Harvey Barnes (-5), Callan Barrow (-3) and Matty Lamb (-1) joined by Wales’ Harry Watkins.
Watkin’s one-under tally sees him lead the amateur category by three strokes from Lithuanian Giedrius Mackelis, with Gallagher one further adrift in third.
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